Flexible drive cable assemblies are commonly used in a variety of applications. One such application is for the transmission of rotary movements in an electric automobile seat adjustment mechanism. The present electric automotive seat adjustment mechanisms include a reversible rotary motor which is driven in response to activation of a switch by the vehicle occupant. The rotary movement of the reversible electric motor is transmitted through a flexible drive cable assembly to the seat adjustment mechanism which moves the various seat frame assembly members with respect to one another in response to the rotary movement transmitted through the flexible drive cable assembly.
The present flexible drive cable assemblies suffer from high failure rate during use, due to one end of the drive cable becoming unattached to the end fitting of the housing fixture for the transmission or the motor. In most instances, this disengagement is unintentional by the vehicle occupants and may go unnoticed until the next vehicle occupant actuation of the switch in an attempt to adjust the seat mechanism. Various activities can result in the unintended dislocation of the flexible drive cable from the end fitting of the housing fixture, such as storage of an article under the seat, or removal of a previously stored article, such as an umbrella, ice scraper, or other object. In such instances, the stored or retrieved article may push the flexible drive cable off from the end fitting, or may hook the flexible drive cable and pull the flexible drive cable off from the end fitting. In addition, dislocation of the flexible drive cable from the end fitting may also occur due to the placement of a foot of a rear seat vehicle occupant underneath the front seat in such a manner as to push, or hook the flexible drive cable and dislocate it with respect to the end fitting of the housing fixture.
In an attempt to overcome this disadvantage of the flexible drive cable assemblies, various manufacturers have adopted the use of extra parts, such as clips, rings or other retainers which may be installed during the assembly process to more positively lock and retain the flexible drive cable with respect to the end fitting of the housing fixture. Unfortunately, in many cases these additional parts, i.e., clips, rings or other retainers, are not installed, or not properly installed, during the installation process, which results in continued high failure rates during use.
Therefore, the present invention seeks to overcome the perceived problems and disadvantages of the present flexible drive cable assemblies. The present invention seeks to provide a low cost, positive attachment of the flexible shaft and cover to an end fitting, which may be integrally formed with the motor or transmission housing, or may be connected to the motor or transmission housing. The present invention also seeks to provide an easy to assemble device which does not require extra parts, such as clips, rings or retainers. In addition, the present invention seeks to provide an assembly that requires a high pull-off effort to disassemble.